Hemingway House {Florida Tourist Part 4}

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” –Ernest Hemingway

I suppose that quote can’t really define Hemingway himself since he committed suicide–as did many in his family–but it speaks to me as someone who has pulled through the other side stronger than I thought possible.

I received my certification to teach high school and middle school English but never had the chance to use that certification before it ran out–much to my own children’s happiness I might add. I loved reading growing up though as an adult I have gotten away from it. In 9th grade my dad told me to read “The Old Man and the Sea” for a choose-your-own-book book report for English class, and at less than 100 pages I agreed to do it. The only other time I hated my father more was when he made me read Ray Bradbury. (It’s like he didn’t know me at all!) I hated every ounce of that book and just getting to the end was a huge chore for me. When it came time to read him again in 11th and 12th grades I wasn’t sure I was going to survive it, but then along came “The Sun Also Rises” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls”–and I was in love with Hemingway again!

When we had the chance to visit Hemingway House in Key West I’m pretty sure I was the one most excited for the literary aspect, while my mom has seen some of the movies based on his books and my sister couldn’t wait to see the cats with the extra digits. He was given one by a ship’s captain and Hemingway believed the extra digit was a sign of good luck. So cool.

Our guide that day was an awesome young man who was just a ton of fun. It’s not like some of the other locations I’ve visited–you could take photos throughout the inside. I loved seeing where he wrote and the type writer he once told his editor made more spelling mistakes than any other one ever. The stories the guide told were funny, and interesting and I could have spent all day there! It was a beautiful home and one of the only few on the whole island that has a cellar.

This is a urinal from the original Smokey Joe’s where Hemingway would often write.

I could have spent hours on site and would love to go back again! Found this quote from Hemingway and it’s something he’s 100% correct about…and an avid drinker like him should know!

“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”